At the 2026 Golden Globes, Pamela Anderson found herself just feet away from Seth Rogen. This was the first major public event where both were in attendance since Rogen helped produce Hulu’s 2022 miniseries, Pam & Tommy, a show Anderson never wanted made. The actress recently opened up about that uncomfortable moment and her lingering feelings about a series that dramatized one of the most painful periods of her life.
An Uncomfortable Encounter at the Awards Show
During a January 15 appearance on SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live, Anderson detailed the awkward experience of being near Rogen at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. She was at the Globes as a nominee for her role in The Last Showgirl, and Rogen was there as a winner for his Apple TV+ series The Studio.
Anderson told host Andy Cohen, “He was in the pit at the Golden Globes, so we were close”. The “pit” refers to the area near the stage. She chose not to approach him, but the proximity alone stirred strong emotions. “I felt a little bit weird about it,” she said. “I don’t know. It just felt, like, a little yucky”. Anderson left the ceremony soon after she and Miley Cyrus presented an award, going straight to bed.
“I didn’t make a beeline for him, but in my mind I did. I told him how I felt.” – Pamela Anderson on seeing Seth Rogen
The Core Issue: A Series Made Without Consent
The source of Anderson’s discomfort stems directly from Pam & Tommy. The eight-part Hulu series starred Lily James and Sebastian Stan and chronicled the theft and illegal sale of Anderson and her then-husband Tommy Lee’s private sex tape in the mid-1990s. Seth Rogen served as an executive producer and also played Rand Gauthier, the man who stole the tape.
Anderson’s central grievance is that the project proceeded without her permission or involvement. “He did that [series] without talking to me,” she told Cohen. She questioned the ethics of turning personal trauma into entertainment: “How can someone make a TV series out of difficult times in your life? And I’m a living, breathing human being over here. Hello”.
Anderson’s Long-Standing Position on the Show
This was not the first time Anderson has expressed her dismay. In a 2023 interview with Variety, she called the people behind the series “assholes” and described the show as “salt on the wound” of her original trauma. She has consistently maintained she was never formally contacted by the producers to consult or give her blessing, contradicting earlier statements from the show’s creators who said they reached out but she chose not to engage.
Anderson has also been clear that her issue is not with the actors. Regarding Lily James’s portrayal, she previously stated, “It’s not her fault; it’s a job”. Instead, she places responsibility on the decision-makers who greenlit the project.
The Ethical Debate Surrounding ‘Pam & Tommy’
The series ignited a significant debate about consent and exploitation in entertainment. Critics argued that a show about the non-consensual distribution of a private video was itself made without the consent of its primary subject, creating a glaring irony.
The show attempted to frame itself as a sympathetic re-examination of the event, highlighting the media’s sexist treatment of Anderson at the time. However, many felt this perspective was fundamentally undermined by Anderson’s own objections. A 2022 column in The Guardian pointed out the contradiction: “A show about consent exists without the consent of one of its central subjects”.
The production was legally able to proceed because it was based on a 2014 Rolling Stone article about the tape’s theft, to which the producers secured the rights. This highlighted a common industry practice where life rights are not always required if other source material is available.
Hopes for an Apology and Moving Forward
During her conversation with Andy Cohen, Anderson expressed a tempered hope that Rogen might eventually acknowledge her feelings. “Eventually hopefully he will…maybe he’ll reach out to me and apologize,” she said. She quickly added, “Not that that matters”, but her desire for some form of accountability was clear.
She summed up her frustration with the core belief that fame should not erase all personal boundaries. “When you are a public person, they say you have no right to privacy. But your darkest, deepest secrets or your tragedies in your life shouldn’t be fair game for a TV series. That pissed me off a little bit”.
Despite these strong feelings, Anderson ended her comments on a note of perspective, saying, “Everything’s good. There’s worse things going on in the world”. She has remained professionally busy, noting she has filmed five movies in the past year.
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The Broader Impact and Aftermath
The controversy has had a wider impact. Lily James, who earned an Emmy nomination for her performance, recently shared that the backlash made her more cautious about taking roles based on real people. “Yeah, it did,” James said when asked if the situation gave her trepidation. She explained that while she approaches such roles with deep care and intention to honor her subjects, the experience was “overwhelming”.
The 2026 Golden Globes moment between Anderson and Rogen, though no direct interaction occurred, brought the unresolved issues from the 2022 series back into public discussion. It highlighted the lasting personal impact that dramatized biopics can have on the individuals they portray, especially when made without their support.
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